Tether Backs Startup SQRIL For Cross-border Scan-to-Pay QR Code Payments
- Tether has invested in SQRIL to boost real-time QR payments across borders.
- With this move, the CEO of SQRIL, Malcom, aims to be the world’s QR code infrastructure leader.
- Through this investment, Tether pushes to facilitate the use of stablecoins in daily transactions.
The leading stablecoin firm, Tether, has made a strategic move by investing in SQRIL, the Southeast Asia-based startup, to enable their mobile app users to scan & pay QR codes in real time across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. SQRIL Founder & CEO Malcolm Weed highlighted that by integrating with their API’s banks can allow their user base banks can scan & pay local QR codes across Asia, Africa, and Latam.
Cross-Border Transaction Made Easier
The firm SQRIL is known for building scan-to-pay QR code payments API (‘payment switch’) for banks, e-wallets, and fintech apps in emerging markets. Tether has made an investment in the firm, for which the sum is not disclosed publicly yet. The aim of the collaboration is to enable the first real-time, cross-border Scan-to-Pay QR code payment switch. SQRIL Founder & CEO Malcolm Weed explained that,
“I believe we are at the early stages of instant payment interoperability between banks, ewallets, and merchants of different countries, and SQRIL plans to be an important part of that infrastructure. With the rise of national QR code schemes, stablecoins, and the global movement of people, there needs to be a better way to pay across borders.”
QR-based payments are transforming how digital transactions are conducted worldwide. By 2025, the global QR code ecosystem has seen substantial growth and is expected to expand at an estimated CAGR of 16.9% through 2030. Across Asia, the scan-to-pay QR code has been the leading payment method over the past several years, and the shift has been rapidly advancing.
Emerging markets, whose economies are in a transitional phase, like Latin America and Africa, are also following this trend. With over thirteen years of experience in the cross-border payments sector and spending the past three years living in Southeast Asia, Malcom foresees this to be the universal mode of payment in the coming years.
Related: Tether Expands Bitcoin Holdings With A $800 Million Purchase
How SQRIL Works?
Malcolm explained that, “any traditional bank such as Barclays or Bank of America, or neobanks such as Venmo, Revolut, or Cash App can integrate with our APIs and allow their user base to scan & pay local QR codes across Asia, Africa, and Latam. Users would pay with their home currency, and the merchant in the foreign country would receive their local currency. SQRIL would handle the forex and local payout in the destination currency.”
Currently, the SQRIL API is available in countries including the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia, with bank transfers in Malaysia and Thailand, to pay using local QR codes. The road map is ahead to include countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America within Q1. Malcolm also boldly remarked that they are aiming to be the world’s QR code infrastructure leader.
Tether’s Strategic Move
USDT remains dominant in crypto trading and DeFi, and this move fits in its diversification strategy. This could lower transaction expenses and speed up remittances and merchant settlements, particularly in markets where QR-based payments are scaling faster than traditional card networks. Supporting SQRIL could enable USDT to be used for backend settlement processes.
Tether’s backing of SQRIL highlights a deliberate push to bring stablecoins into everyday payment use cases, moving beyond their traditional role in trading and DeFi ecosystems. Tether has recently added 8,888 Bitcoin to its reserves, a transaction valued close to $800 million at the time of acquisition. The moves of Tether reveal its strategic push to expand and foster mainstream adoption of stablecoins.
